Train company helps with charity donation

CHICKS, which provides life-enhancing respite breaks in the countryside for disadvantaged children and their carers, is CrossCountry's chosen charity for 2009/10 and the company's employees have been driving a variety of initiatives to raise funds for the respected charity.

The £2,500 donated by CrossCountry has been raised in two ways. Firstly, money has been gathered through weekly 'Dress Down Friday' collections from CrossCountry's Birmingham head office and also, through a daredevil skydive by CrossCountry manager, Kerry Cross, who jumped from a plane at 10,000ft over the Northumberland coastline on behalf of CHICKS.

CrossCountry's Managing Director Andy Cooper said: "Our employees have been instrumental in raising funds for CHICKS over the past 12 months. There is a real passion within CrossCountry for the charity which was underlined by Kerry's out-of-the-ordinary sky dive and of course generous donations from those within our Birmingham head office."

Roy Endacott, Chief Executive of CHICKS added: "I am delighted to have accepted the cheque from CrossCountry and would like to thank everyone in their head office and Kerry in particular for her brave feat. CrossCountry have also been donating free train tickets for the children to travel to our two CHICKS retreats and this has made such a difference to the service that we can offer to the children."

As an additional element of CrossCountry's link-up with CHICKS, the company's 1,600 employees also have the opportunity to work with the children visiting CHICKS as volunteers at their retreats in Devon and Cornwall.

Pictured (left to right) at the cheque presentation, which took place at Bristol Temple Meads Station, are: Andy Cooper, CrossCountry Managing Director; Kerry Cross, Customer Service Manager and Roy Endacott, CHICKS Chief Executive.

Please find notes to Editors, CrossCountry facts and figures below.
For more information feel free to contact us on 0121 2006115 or by email to [email protected]

Notes to editors

CrossCountry started operating on 11 November 2007. The franchise, which is the most extensive in the UK, will run until 31 March 2016. For further information on CrossCountry services and future franchise plans log on to www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk

Arriva is one of the largest private sector providers of passenger transport in Europe, employing more than 43,500 people (including share of associate companies) and providing more than one billion passenger journeys every year.

Arriva provides transport services including buses, trains, commuter coaches and water buses, and operates in 12 European countries: Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden and the UK.

CHICKS (Country Holidays for Inner City Kids) is a registered charity, no. 1080953. Since we began in 1992, CHICKS has provided positive respite breaks to more than 6,000 disadvantaged children from across the UK. The children we care for come from a variety of backgrounds. Many have been abused, live in poverty, or have been neglected. Others live in care or are themselves young carers, often bearing the extraordinary responsibility of caring for disabled or terminally ill relatives. What they have in common is the desperate need to create some positive childhood memories, to be listened to, and to have the kind of fun that all children deserve. Each year, hundreds of children spend a week at one of our 'retreats' in Devon and Cornwall, both of our sites are places where the children can run free and be completely safe. Every child gets the total attention of our expert supervisors, and are made to feel cared for and valued.

*We request that journalists include the website in all reporting www.chicks.org.uk. Contact Details: Elanor Hoskin/ telephone: 01822 811020 / e-mail [email protected]

CrossCountry facts and figures:

STATIONS SERVED: 118
ROUTE MILES: 1,654
WEEKDAY SERVICES: 293
PASSENGERS CARRIED: Over 30 million passenger journeys a year anticipated
ANNUAL TRAIN MILEAGE: Approximately 16 million
EMPLOYEES: Approximately 1,700
LONGEST TRAIN SERVICE: 08.20 Aberdeen to Penzance (774 miles)

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Contact Information

CrossCountry Press Office: [email protected]

About CrossCountry

CrossCountry is a long-distance passenger train operator, with a network stretching from Aberdeen to Penzance and from Stansted to Cardiff and calling at over 100 stations. Based in Birmingham, CrossCountry connects seven of Britain’s 10 largest cities and delivers 240 services every weekday, equating to over 42 million passenger journeys each year.

For further information on CrossCountry services, visit crosscountrytrains.co.uk or visit one of our social media platforms via X @crosscountryuk or Facebook at facebook.com/crosscountrytrains